I named this column “Built to Battle” because I spent much of my life not knowing how to battle, giving up, or trying to battle things in my own ability instead of the Lord’s with His weapons of warfare. But, today, someone needs to know that there is a time to be held. Held. Held. […]
Built to Battle – Keep Walking Right Through
You will make it because you’ll see what others don’t. You’ll trust what others won’t. You’ll do the things no one sees. Even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard. You’ll do the things that only make sense because God said so. And the in between will be hard. The night may feel long. That walk […]
Built to Battle – “They didn’t even smell of smoke”
“… they didn’t even smell of smoke.” And you don’t have to either. Three men in the book of Daniel walked into a fiery furnace bound because they refused to bow to this world. They walked out free of bondage and didn’t even smell of smoke. It is impossible to overestimate God’s ability to heal […]
Built to Battle – That one last little thing will kill you
“If you think you are too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito.” – African proverb They say it’s the little things that kill. But, when you’ve faced the big things — job loss, cancer, divorce, wild kids, broken homes, pain, loss loss, life — I’m sure the little things […]
Built to Battle – Whatever God has called us to, He will empower us through
Whatever God has called us to, He will empower us through. He doesn’t forget or slack on His provision. He doesn’t overlook an attribute we need or the funding required to do the thing. He gives nerve to the coward and wisdom to the fool. He parts seas. Raises the dead. Shuts the mouths of […]
Built to Battle – What if even one person is drawn to you through this?
“If even one person is drawn to you through this, it will all be worth it.” I’ve said this phrase to God more than once in the last few years. It started in 2007 when I got sick for a few months. I had strayed for years from the Lord and was trying to find […]
Built to Battle – Marinating the meat means deep change
When I marinate meat, something changes. It’s not just a flavor that can be easily brushed off the meat. To marinate doesn’t just change the surface, it’s a deeper change, tenderizing, making things truly different. You can’t unmarinate a thing. When I put it on the fire, how long and how I marinated it matters. […]
Built to Battle – We can rejoice even while homeschooling with a toddler
Homeschooling an 8-year-old with an 18-month old is like trying to teach a crowd of boys how to knit while wrestling an octopus. I can’t knit. And I’ve never held an octopus. Perhaps it’s why I can feel so ill equipped at rightly doing this new thing of homeschool and raising a toddler. Motherhood is […]
Built to Battle – Social media learns us to drive us
I am on a rescue mission. We all should be. Our country, world, has faced many wars over the years. Today, it’s for our soul. For our future. And I can choose whether I am a part of the rescuing or if I drown right from my keyboard. Actually, I don’t even need a full […]
Built to Battle – An imperfect woman did what she could
You are not too much for God. Your pain isn’t too deep. Your way too lost. Your course too off. Your sin too gross, dark or bad. Your passion too intense. You will never be too clingy, too needy, too insignificant for Him. Jesus paid for you in full more than 2,000 years ago. Nothing […]